{"id":26707,"date":"2020-11-02T06:24:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T12:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=26707"},"modified":"2020-10-13T12:28:52","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T17:28:52","slug":"boost-social-media-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/boost-social-media-posts\/","title":{"rendered":"How and When to Boost Posts on Social Media [Ultimate Guide]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Social media has become much more than a way to connect online with friends and family. Actively engaging in social media is one of the primary ways brands find new consumers, connect with their audience in meaningful ways, and drive traffic back to their website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, 73 percent of marketers report that social media marketing has been either 'somewhat effective'\u009d or 'very effective'\u009d for their business, according to a recent study by Buffer.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main reasons social media is such a productive marketing platform is because of how many consumers actively participate on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms, and how much time people spend on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One study even reports that the average social media users spend 3 hours a day<\/a> on social networks and messaging, and over 90% of Millennials, 77% of Generation X, and 48% of Baby Boomers<\/a> actively participate in social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question isn\u2019t whether or not you should advertise on social media<\/a> to drive traffic back to your website (you should). The question is how do new website owners boost a post on social media and how do you ensure you reach the right audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article will provide instructions on how to boost posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn so you can target your ideal customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Boost a Post on Facebook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Facebook is an excellent place for new website owners to advertise, considering the platform has over 2 billion users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the steps for boosting a post on Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. If you haven\u2019t created a Facebook page for your business, that\u2019s your first step. <\/strong>If you have already created a Facebook page for your business, navigate to your page, and create your first post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"example<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Select the 'Boost Post'\u009d option on your new Facebook post. <\/strong>If you are boosting an old Facebook post, click on 'Boost Post'\u009d on the bottom right section of your post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"boost<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Once you select 'Post'\u009d for a new post or 'Boost Post'\u009d for an old post, Facebook will redirect you to a page where you can choose your audience.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"select<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. From this page, you can choose a goal, change your button label, select your audience, preview your ad, select the duration of your ad, and select a budget.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Once you have customized your audience, click on 'Boost Post Now'\u009d at the bottom of the page. <\/strong>Facebook will submit your ad, review it, and approve it, provided your post doesn\u2019t violate any of Facebook\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Once you submit your post, Facebook will show you a screen where you can select 'Go to Ad Center.'\u009d <\/strong>The Ad Center is where you can see all your advertising metrics<\/a> for your Facebook and Instagram accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"facebook<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s it! Once you complete this process, Facebook will deliver your ad to Facebook users that match your defined audience. You can also track the progress of your ad at any time by reviewing your Facebook analytics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Boost a Post in Instagram<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Facebook owns Instagram, so the process for posting a post on Instagram is exactly the same as boosting a post on Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only difference is when you are customizing your audience, you need to pay special attention to the 'Placements'\u009d section. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you click on 'Placements,'\u009d make sure to check the box that says 'Instagram.'\u009d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"select<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you do this, you can rest assured your ad will also appear on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since some businesses will create an Instagram business account, but not a Facebook Page, there is an alternative way to promote a post on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way to boost a post on Instagram is within your Instagram business account itself. Here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Log in to your Instagram account and navigate to the post you want to promote.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Click on 'Promote'\u009d at the bottom of the post.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"instagram<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Instagram will redirect you to a page that says 'Create Promotion.'\u009d <\/strong>Click this button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Select where you want to send your audience by toggling one of the following options: your profile, your website, or your direct messages.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"select<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Once you toggle an option, Instagram will send you to a page where you can define your audience. <\/strong>You can choose your own audience or have Instagram do it for you. If you already know who you want to target, consider creating your own audience. If you are not sure who should see your ad, Instagram has an algorithm that will target accounts that are similar to people who already follow you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"define<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6. On the next screen, you can set your budget and the duration of your ad run time. <\/strong>Once your preselected budget and ad duration end, Instagram will stop promoting your post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"select<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

7. Finally, review your promotion on the next screen and hit the 'Create Promotion'\u009d button.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"create<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Those are the two different ways you can create a promotion on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Promote a Tweet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It can be difficult to start from zero on a social media account, but here is some encouraging news about Twitter. The average Twitter user follows 5 businesses<\/a>, and 80% of Twitter users<\/a> have mentioned a brand in a tweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, Twitter<\/a> is another productive social media platform for new website owners, and promoting a Tweet may be what you need to capture new followers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how to promote a Tweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Log in to your Twitter account and write a Tweet.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Click on the down arrow icon on the bottom right side of your Tweet to see a list of menu options. <\/strong>These include delete, unpin from profile, embed Tweet, and view Tweet activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"tweet<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Click on 'View Tweet activity.'\u009d<\/strong> Twitter will show you a screen that displays how many impressions and total engagements the respective Tweet has. It will also provide a 'Get Started'\u009d button to help you promote your Tweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"view<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. Click on 'Get started'\u009d and then enter your payment details.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Once you have entered your payment details, Twitter will direct you to a screen where you can choose your audience and set your budget. <\/strong>Your targeting options on Twitter aren\u2019t as detailed as they will be on Facebook and Instagram. You can only target a specific location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Press 'Confirm spend of X amount'\u009d and your promoted Tweet will be live.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with Facebook and Instagram, when your budget runs out, Twitter will stop promoting your Tweet. You can also view your Twitter analytics<\/a> at any time to track how your Tweet is performing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Promote a Post on LinkedIn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are several different ways to advertise on LinkedIn<\/a>, including lead gen forms, message ads, text ads, and sponsored content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the purposes of this post, we\u2019ll talk about how to create a sponsored content post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sponsored content ads come in different forms, including single image ads, video ads, and carousel ads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also different ways to display your sponsored content. The type of displayed ad on LinkedIn that is most similar to a Facebook boosted post is running a native ad in the news feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the steps to take to run a native ad in the LinkedIn news feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Create a business page for your website.<\/strong> It\u2019s free to create a LinkedIn business page, and you can find more information on why this is a good idea, best practices, and instructions on this LinkedIn tutorial page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Once you have a LinkedIn page for your business, you can start posting.<\/strong> Anything you post will show up on your LinkedIn page and in your followers\u2019 news feeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The next step is to create a Sponsored Content campaign by:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n